The present invention relates to a storage management integrated system and a storage control method for the storage management integrated system, and more specifically to a storage management integrated system and a storage control method for the storage management integrated system which are suitable to improve the convenience in sharing files of users by offering the centralized managing of file information of shared disks in a plurality of computers that are connected to a network, thus enabling the sharing of files depending on the status of the computers and the disks.
In recent years, the higher capacity is being aggressively pursued in the design of a hard disk, which in turn has accelerated a trend of mounting very large capacity of hard disks even for personal computers that can be possessed and used by each individual user. On the other hand, however, not a many application software that are capable of effectively utilizing such a large-capacity hard disk mounted in those personal computers are available at present. Though not for this reason, even if the capacity of a hard disk is reduced, the price for a personal computer will not be lowered as anticipated since hard disk units are so designed that no big difference should occur among their prices where the hard disk quality exceeds a certain level. Consequently, it is true that many of recent personal computers leave considerable surplus space in their hard disks.
An effective method to utilize such surplus space may be, for example, to use the surplus space for sharing files by a plurality of persons or backing up files, by designating such surplus space to be a shared disk volume that can be accessed from other computers connected to a network, using a protocol which enables access to files via the network.
However, since such surplus space exists in a small volume in each computer, it may become uncertain which files are recorded in which shared disk volume, unless the file location management is skillfully achieved, regarding such as which file exists in which shared disk volume of a computer, or what file is to be written in. Conventionally, the file management had to be conducted by users themselves who are making access to the shared disk volume.
Further, with a conventional disk sharing technology, a primary user of a computer's side that offers the shared disk volume could not provide a user who uses the shared disk volume with information concerning operating conditions regarding how the disk volume should be used, or how the disk volume should be preferably used.
In addition, a hard disk that is incorporated in a personal computer is not reliable enough, there is no guarantee that the personal computer is always turned on, and furthermore, when it comes down to a notebook type computer or a personal digital assistance (PDA), it is not always connected to a network. In a case where the shared disk volume provided by such computers is used, conventionally, users themselves who are accessing the disk volume had to consider factors that are arising out of operations at their own will.
On the other hand, in recent years, an NAS (Network Attached Storage) has been attracting people's attention as exclusive shared disk equipment that can be directly connected to a network. The deployment of the NAS equipment includes the following advantage: the centralized management of data is possible if shared disks can be concentrated on one NAS equipment; many of the NAS equipment offer higher reliability and higher accessing speeds than hard disks that are employed by personal computers; and system management functions such as backing up of files, etc. are abundant and can be operated easily. However, in addition to the fact that NAS equipment are expensive in general, there is a disadvantage that the NAS equipment themselves or the surrounding networks will incur increased loads when the equipment is shared by many people. Further, it could be an another disadvantage that, when all shared files are concentrated into one NAS equipment, no access might be possible to any one of the files if a problem occurs in the NAS equipment itself or on the network connecting the NAS equipment and an access source computer. Though not for this reason, if plural pieces of NAS equipment are deployed so as to secure redundancy, both the deployment and the management cost will increase, thereby deteriorating the convenience of the centralized management in turn.
A problem for a case where the shared disk volume provided by a plurality of computers connected each other via a network is used may be, for example as described above, that the management of file location, and operating conditions, accessibility state, and use type of a computer of a person who is at a side which offers the shared disk volume should be reflected on file access.
As the prior art to dissolve problems concerning the location management of files that exist over a plurality of shared disk volume, a peer-to-peer (P2P) file exchange system such as Napster or Gnutella is known. However, since this system is one designed to disclose files that have been already written in the shared disk volume arranged in respective computers to other computers, this system cannot deal with file-writing operations from other computers, and much less, a user who provides the shared disk volume can offer information on writing conditions, etc.
Further, another system that manages shared disks under a certain use condition is available as the prior art. However, this system has been designed for a specified manager to make a centralized management of a group of disks that are used exclusively for shared disks, and therefore, in terms of such shared disk volumes where respective shared disks have different users and are installed in computers whose use type and an accessibility state are different from each other, it does not reflect use type, an accessibility state, and operating conditions of the computer.
On the other hand, although the NAS equipment has advantages and disadvantages such as the centralized management of data, the high reliability, concentrated access and high prices, which are different from a case to utilize shared disk volumes provided by a plurality of computers, there have been no prior arts to complement mutual disadvantages by combining the both systems.